Strip Mall
by lucidic
Summary: Laundromats, ice cream parlors, and ramen stands – oh my!


**who **Sakura and Ino, with a splash of Sasuke and a hint of Tenten**  
what **the first in a series of related oneshot-drabble-things**  
where **the local coffee house and the laundromat, at a–**  
**_strip mall_  
n. A shopping complex containing a row of various stores, businesses, and restaurants that usually opens onto a common parking lot.**  
when **basically throughout the day**  
why **wanted to try something new

**disclaimer **Not mine, motherlickas.

* * *

"I met him at a laundromat."

"A _laundromat_?"

"Yeah, you know, the one on the corner by Ichikaru's?" sip-sip gulp. "It was weird, really."

Silence, then…

"You think there are anymore left?"

"Ino!"

Sakura looked at her friend from behind the tangerine mug she held, her green eyes holding a familiar mixture of amusement and exasperation. Ino, on the other hand, appeared expectant; as if she was ready for Sakura to say 'yes!' and pull one out of her side bag, already wrapped with a big red bow and ready for a leash. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, because Sakura just snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I really don't think so." She shook her head, and gestured to the window of the café. "I mean really, there are so many out there just waiting to be put on leash and everything."

Ino snorted into her chai tea latte. "You talk about them like they're animals, Sakura."

"But they _are_!"

"I know, and I agree with you." She held up a finger mid-sentence. "_But_, I prefer to let mine off the leash every once in a while. It's good for their health."

"But anyways," Sakura continued, ignoring her good friend. "He was so cute! I almost took him home with me!"

Ino looked down right appalled, slamming her mug down on the table, effectively waking up the guy at the counter. "And why _didn't_ you?!"

"Well," she started. "It the look he was giving me... it almost made me want to piss myself."

Ino gave Sakura a skeptical look and decided to stay quiet by sipping at the last drops of her latte, busying herself by looking at the other customers who actually decided that ten in the morning was a good time to get up _on a weekend_.

There was about total of seven people there, a majority looking like they were about to collapse into their five dollar drinks. Even the guy behind the counter looked dead on his feet, having to continuously tilt his head back to keep his eyelids from drooping shut.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Sakura had gotten up and pushed in her chair, and was now adjusting the corduroy bag on her shoulder so hung comfortably against her side.

"Come on, let's go. We promised to meet Tenten and Hinata in a half hour."

"Where again?" Ino asked, pushing in her own chair and following Sakura out the door.

Sakura sighed. She was tired of repeating herself. "Ayame's Ice Cream Parlor, remember? It's on the same side of the street as that Tae Kwon Doe place."

"Oh… right."

They walked in silence up the sidewalk for a while, enjoying the mild peace that only the early morning and late night offered. About halfway there, Ino pulled a pair Chanel sunglasses from her purse and adjusted them continuously until she felt them to be perfectly bridged on her petite nose. As they rounded another corner, she sighed loudly.

"I kinda miss having one."

"I thought we were done with this conversation?"

"I mean, how long has it been, two years now?" She rounded back on Sakura's question. "And conversations are never done, just... delayed for a while."

Sakura decided to humor her long-time friend. "Yeah, it's been about two years since you've had one."

"My point _exactly_! That's two years too long!"

"I'm sur–"

_You're so sly  
__Hi, it's a pleasure to meet ya  
__You look like one incredible creat-cha  
__Wanna take yo–_

Sakura dug out her phone and flipped it open.

"Yo."

"_Where are you guys?_"

"We're about two blocks awa–_shit_!"

"_Sakura what, what Sakura–what's wrong?_"

Sakura stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, slapping her forehead repeatedly with the palm of her hand, cursing at herself in three different languages. Ino stood flanked at her side, attempting to pull Sakura's hand away from her face, grunting and making various faces. Finally, she sighed and put down her hand, shaking Ino as she held the phone back up to her ear–only to pull it away. Tenten had been screaming frantically into receiver for a few minutes, and had only growing louder the longer she didn't get a reply (_"Sakura?" "Where are you?" "Hello?" "What's happening over there?!" "C'MON, SOMEONE TALK TO ME HERE!" "SAKURAAA!"_).

Sakura screamed right back into the phone until her yelling deceased.

She huffed a piece of hair out of her face. "Nothing's wrong, Tenten. I just remembered I left my outfit–yeah, the one for tomorrow's party–at the Laundromat last night. I'm hoping–yes, I've been told I'm idiot before, thanks–I'm hoping that nobody's taken it… uh-huh, I already I know I'm screwed… some help you ar–yeah, sure, bye."

"You're screwed."

"You don't think I already _know _this?"

"I'm just saying, as a best friend." She leaned against the pole. "So what's the plan now?"

Sakura sighed and leaned on the light post opposite Ino. "Rain check on ice cream with the girls, and now I gotta walk all the way across town."

"Wait, walk? Why not just take your car?"

Sakura snorted. "I wish. Remember last week when Kiba stole my car for that April Fool's joke?–even though it's October–yeah, well he totaled it and is fixing it as we speak, the dumbass."

"So you're out of car for a week? Haha, sucks to be you."

"I'm really feeling the love, thanks."

"That's what I'm here for." She started pushing at Sakura's back. "Now shoo, vamoose, go!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going."

-

**-&**&**&-**

**-**

It was suddenly 11:53 PM.

_Where has all the time gone?_ Sakura asked herself, as she trudged up the last hill to the laundromat.

But she didn't have answer herself, because that was the profane beauty of rhetorical questions. _Of course_ she knew where all the time went. It had gone to 'oh, that's a pretty shirt, I wonder if they have it my size!'s and 'wow, was that shoe store there before, let's find out!'s for hours on end. And now Sakura was tired and sleepy and irritated because it was almost _midnight_ and she had to work in the morning, but was too thankful because her destination was only (three… two… one) steps away and _closed_.

Sakura almost shot a kitten. Almost.

So, unwilling to believe she had walked all this way for the laundromat not to be open, she read the sign again, and her frown turned into scowl.

_Sorry, we're closed._

"'Sorry, we're closed' my ass," she grumbled, glaring at the dark inside.

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

Sakura answered the questions with a snort. "Of course not, you sil–HOLY CRAP, WHO'S THERE?" Then jumped back, holding her arms at odd places around her head.

Coincidently, the street light in front of the store flickered to life, illuminating the lean build of a man sitting on a bench, his obsidian irises trained on her every movement. Sakura lowered her guard once she realized who it was. "Oh, it's you. The guy from the laundromat."

"Hn," he answered and picked up a plastic wrapped parcel next to him.

Sakura watched in a sort of awed wariness as the god before her shortened the distance between them, backing up until her back hit the brick and he was standing so close that she could feel the heat radiating off him. Meekly, she looked up into his dark eyes and almost squeaked at his imperious presence, then glanced at the bag in his left hand and attempted to blend in with the wall behind her.

"You're–you're going to rape me, aren't you?" she asked.

His face was the equivalent of stone, as one eyebrow expertly arched in question. "Excuse me?"

She pointed to the bag. "That's what the bag's for. You're gonna rape me, kill me, chop me up into little pieces and stuff me in that bag, right?"

"_No_." He shoved the black garbage bag into her hands. "Here. See you at the party. Bye."

Sakura looked down at the sac. "Thanks..." she said dazed, then looked up confounded. "Hey, how'd–"

But he was already gone.

Now alone, Sakura placed a hand over her beating chest, leaning against the cool stone. _That was so scary... _she thought. _I have to tell Ino!_

Flipping open her phone she pressed the speed dial and held the receiver to her ear, listening to Ino's techno-pop ringback tone.

"_Talk to me,_" she commanded on the other line.

"I think I was just almost-raped by the sexiest man alive."

* * *

anybody have a clue of what Sakura and Ino were talking about in the cafe?  
here's a hint: it wasn't about dogs.  
I don't know if I want to keep this.  
change my mind?


End file.
